The Guide To Developing Self-Discipline

If you lookup the definition of self-discipline, you’ll usually see something like this: Self-discipline is the power to get yourself to take action regardless of whether you feel like it or not. Developing self-discipline requires a willingness and capability to act — regardless of your current emotional state.

And all of this is true. But it doesn’t go far enough…

Self-discipline is more than simply doing stuff that you don’t want to do… Behind all of that surface-level stuff, there’s usually a deeper, more meaningful reason why you’re interested in developing self-discipline in the first place…

My definition of self-discipline goes like this: Self-discipline is about self-imposed, deeply personal, intrinsically-motivated behaviors repeated regularly enough such that they become part of your moral fabric, your code of conduct.

Throughout this article/podcast, we’ll be focusing on how to develop self-discipline based on the above definitions. By the time you’re finished, you’ll have three specific actions you can start taking today to develop the disciplines you need to achieve your goals and improve your life.

The Guide To Developing Self-Discipline

When you set your alarm clock to wake you up at 5:00AM, you’ve set a disciplined intention to rise at that specific time.

Now, when the alarm goes off the next morning, do you tap the snooze-button, or do you pop out of bed and begin your day?

At this point, some people may say, “But what’s five more minutes?“

Five more minutes means you’ve been unfaithful to yourself… Yourself-disciplined intention—that promise you made to yourself the night before to rise at five—is broken the moment you hit snooze. You’ve started your day with a negative score. And you’ve set the tone for more slips of self-discipline, to let more of the little things slide.

But the little things add up.

Which is why I’m here to say: YES—sometimes you do need to sweat the small stuff…